Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Deportation: Human Rights Compliance

Tuesday 24 November 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Richard Burgon asked the Foreign Secretary about steps taken with the Home Secretary to ensure UK Government compliance with international human rights law in deportation cases.
  • The Foreign Secretary stated that the Home Office leads on deportations, removals, and returns, and is responsible for legal compliance.
  • Concerns were raised about the UK-US extradition treaty and its perceived imbalance in favor of the US, with the FCDO committing to uphold international human rights treaties.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Richard Burgon Lab Leeds East
Immigration Standards & Ethics
Context

The question addresses recent steps taken to ensure UK Government adherence to international human rights law during the handling of deportation cases. The issue highlights concerns about legal compliance and public trust.

Question

What recent steps has he taken with the Home Secretary to ensure UK Government compliance with international human rights law in the handling of deportation cases?

Answer from Nigel Adams

Deportations, removals and returns are a Home Office lead. The Home Office is responsible for ensuring that action is in compliance with the relevant legal frameworks. The Foreign Secretary and the Home Office meet regularly to discuss international business, and FCDO Ministers periodically discuss FCDO support for return flights to specific countries with Home Office colleagues, most recently the resumption of flights to Nigeria and Ghana following a pause due to the covid-19 pandemic. The UK's international legal obligations, including under international human rights law, underpin all those exchanges.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide specific steps taken with the Home Secretary regarding compliance with international human rights laws for deportations.

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Q2 Richard Burgon Lab Leeds East
Foreign Affairs
Context

Concerns have been raised about the current extradition treaty with the US, particularly regarding its balance in favor of the US and compliance with prohibitions on extraditing individuals for political offences.

Question

The Julian Assange case is just one of many recent cases that have led to greater public discussion of the issue of extradition between the US and the UK. There are concerns about our country's extradition treaty with the USA, including its imbalance in favour of the US and compliance issues regarding prohibitions on extraditing individuals for political offences. What specific actions is the Minister taking to ensure these provisions are upheld?

Answer from Nigel Adams

Changes were made under the previous Government to make the system more balanced. The FCDO is committed to upholding the full range of rights set out in the universal declaration of human rights and in international human rights treaties to which we are a state party.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide specific actions being taken by the government to ensure that prohibitions on political offences are upheld in extradition cases.

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